


Her Light Works

by dreamtwice



Category: K-pop, LOONA (Korea Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-23 19:16:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14339232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamtwice/pseuds/dreamtwice
Summary: In a universe where a human individual's inner-self manifests itself as an animal-shaped daemon, these twelve girls struggle to survive during an economic depression. All the while, they must prepare for the imminent war between England and France.





	1. A Rainy Night

It was a rainy night, the moon hidden behind the grey clouds that covered the whole sky. The streets were empty and the streetlights flickered in the darkness. The small figure of a young girl could be seen crossing, her footsteps making little splashes as she sought shelter under the overhang of the bakery. She leaned against the window and plopped down onto the wet ground. All of her body was shivering, yet she felt as if her body was on fire.

“At least we're out of the rain now, right?” she said, breathing heavily.

“You have a fever Heejin. We should go see the doctor.”

“I'll be fine by tomorrow, it's just a col-”

“It's literally burning underneath your jacket, that's how much body heat you're giving off.”

“Oh, sorry,” Heejin said, lifting her jacket to have a white rabbit scamper out, “but you know we don't have the money for it Heekki.”

“We can least try and beg. I at least prefer giving up my pride than dying.” Heekki sat himself on her lap, his black beady eyes staring straight at her, “Maybe if you stopped trying to be so independent and actually accepted help, we wouldn't be like this.”

“Hey, I'm not going to be some beggar. If I'm going to get something, I at least have to work for it, that's the only prideful way of livin-shit!” The lights in the bakery suddenly turned on, causing the girl to be startled. Hastily picking up Heekki and tucking him under her jacket, she ran off. She gave a quick glance behind her and saw not the large figure of the baker she had been expecting, but the baker’s daughter. Turning back, she disappeared into the night.

 

* * *

 

Hyunjin, who had been tossing and turning, heard voices outside. Curiosity took ahold of her as she slipped out of bed and went downstairs, flipping the light switch on. Someone sat against the window stood up in response, as they ran off. She opened the door to the store and as she stared at the disappearing figure, they turned around and her eyes met with the girl’s.

“Wait!” she cried out, but the girl had already gone. As she turned to go back in, from the corner of her eye, a white object caught her attention. She reached down and grasped what looked like a handkerchief. Looking at it closely, the name Heejin was engraved on with silver thread.

“You should get in, you're going to catch a cold.” An orange cat brushed past her leg, staring out at where the other girl had disappeared.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Hyunjin said apologetically, walking back into the bakery with the cat following behind her.

“You were tossing and turning so much, I hadn't even gotten the chance to fall asleep.”

Shutting the door and turning off the lights, she went back into her room. Placing the handkerchief on the table, she crept back under her covers, the cat snuggling next to her. Her mind was still fixated on the girl that had run away.

Was she okay out there, in the rain? Wouldn't she catch a cold?

“If you're going to spend the entire night thinking about that girl, you're not going to get a bit of sleep at all.”

“Right, sorry.” Closing her eyes, Hyunjin could still the image of the girl's back disappearing into the darkness.

 

* * *

  

“I don't get why we agreed to meet tonight, it's raining cats and dogs.”

A girl was walking along the sidewalk, a bird flying next to her. “It's not like I predicted this weather, stop complaining.”

“You humans don't understand the feeling of having soaked feathers. It's H O R R I B L E!”  
  
“Stop being so loud, we're going to get caught!”

“Haseul is scared of scary curfew guards? When did this happen?”

Suddenly, they heard a cough to their left, down a dark alleyway. “Run?!” the bird squeaked, flapping its wings as it dashed away, “Haseul, what are you doing?!”

The girl just stood there, staring. “It sounded like a girl.”

“It could be a girl guar-where are you going?!” the bird cried as she disappeared into the alleyway. “God, I hate this girl. Wait up!”

It was too dark and misty to see anymore than ten feet ahead, so Haseul approached cautiously. She heard another cough, clearer and louder this time. She was sure it belonged to a girl, one that was sick.

“What are you planning to do, help her?”

“And what do you propose we do? Let her sit out in the cold?” Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. Between the darkness and mist, she saw a glowing pair of yellow eyes, followed by a low growl. “Um, we come in peace?” she said, frightened by the clearly hostile creature, who only growled louder.

“Haima, where are you?” a voice called out in the distance.

“Now we run.” Haseul said, running as fast her little feet could carry her, the bird following behind closely. She half-expected to hear the sound of paws running after her and have sharp teeth sink into her, but thankfully none of that happened.

 

* * *

 

She continuously stared out the window, the streaks of water plastering its surface. She is never this late, she thought to herself.

A girl with bubblegum-pink hair stood from her seat and said, “Yeojin, stop worrying about Haseul. Your sister’s probably just slowed down by the ra-”

The door suddenly burst open, Haseul tumbling in followed by her bird. They both were gasping for air, looking as if they went through a war.

“WHY DID YOU TAKE SO LONG?!” Yeojin yelled, marching towards her sister. “YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?!”

“This is the kind of role-reversal no one expects. The younger sister worrying about the older one.” said the blonde girl sat in the corner of the room. “But yeah, what held you up so long? You're usually punctual.”

“We almost got caught because she tried to help someone.” the bird squawked, perching atop a chair. “The daemon we ran across was some sort of growling beast, with glowing yellow eyes.”

“Haima,” An owl landed on the blonde girl’s lap, “the wolf daemon. She's been wandering the town for weeks now and no one knows who her human is. As far as I know, she hasn't caused any trouble, but we do definitely need to keep an eye on her. A daemon of her strength shouldn't be left unsupervised.”

“Have you been watching her Mifred?” Haseul asked.

“Bamvi and I have been doing so,” he replied, pointing to the sleeping deer, “though it has been hard. She's clever and sneaky.”

“We should get down to why we're truly here, since Haseul and Wiz are here now.” the blonde girl said, standing. “The time we've been dreading the most is coming up soon. I'm afraid we might not survive it this time around.”

“Lippie, if you think that, the rest of us are screwed then.”

“Wait, hold up,” Yeojin said, “I think I missed the memo, what exactly are we talking about?”

The other girls stared at each other nervously, wondering if they should tell the youngest. Looking at Wiz, he nodded to Haseul, who gave a deep sigh before turning to her sister.

“Yeojin, it's almost…”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
“...midterms.”


	2. Family

Olivia was scavenging for any scraps she could sell at the market when she suddenly hears someone coughing. “Haima, can you go check ahead?” she asks her daemon, who nods and bounds forward. She fidgets in her spot, slowly becoming more uncomfortable by the increasing distance between her and Haima.

“Haima, where are you?” she calls out worryingly, after having waited for five minutes. She hears footsteps and immediately is running to where Haima had gone off to. “Haima?! Haima, where are yo-oh!” She bumps into the wolf, who was growling. “What is it? Guards?”

“A girl and her daemon bird. I just scared them off.” Haima replies, returning back to her calm state.

“You scared me, I thought someone got you.” Olivia says.

“I'd rip them to shreds if they put so much as a finger on me.”

A cough interrupts their conversation. The two turn to its owner, seeing a pair of legs sticking out from behind piles of trash. Steadily walking over, Olivia sees a girl, around her own age, barely conscious while breathing heavily with sweat beads sliding down her face and neck.

“She's ill.” Haima says, putting her paw on the sick girl’s hand. “It's bad.”

Crouching down, Olivia moves the hair from stuck to the girl’s face. She looks like she was in a lot of pain. And she looks pretty. But more importantly, in pain.

“We need to take her back. Gowon bought medicine the other day, right?”

“Olivia, we can't bring back strangers. Jinsoul said-”

“She needs our help. I don't care what Jinsoul said, I'll deal with her later. But for now, we need to get this girl back home.” Olivia sees a little white paw sticking from underneath the girl’s jacket. Lifting it, she sees a rabbit. “This must be her daemon. Haima, can you carry them?”

“A wolf carrying a rabbit. Definitely not strange at all.” Leaning down, Haima hoists the rabbit by their neck with her teeth, careful not to hurt them. Olivia puts the girl onto her back in a piggyback position.

“Alright, let's go.”

 

* * *

 

“You know she's going to be furious when she finds out, right?”

Gowon is in the sleeping room, with Heejin lying down on the mattress. She fumbles with the pills, putting two onto the tray. “Get a glass of water, will you?” Olivia grabs a cup and fills it, then handing it over. She leaves the two alone and walks back into the living room.

“I swear Olivia, you're way too soft and kind. First you bring in Yves and now this girl.” Chuu is swinging her legs back and forth, sitting on the edge of a box. “We barely have enough food to feed us five, now you bring in another?”

Olivia stares at Chuu angrily, “And I'm just supposed to leave her out there alone? What were we, before we got together? Just like her, so have some sympathy.”

“I'm not saying what you did was wrong, but we aren't exactly in a state where we can offer help to others when we can barely help ourselves.”

Gowon walks back out, with an empty tray in her hand, “She should get better soon. I'm no expert or anything, but I think all she needs now is warmth, food and water. There's no way she would be able to leave and survive another week.”

“So she's staying?” Chuu asks.

“I'll talk to Jinsoul. I can reason with her. Meanwhile, you and Livia go prepare dinner.” Gowon leaves, the other two being left alone with an awkward air.

“...rock-paper-scissors, loser makes all of dinner.” Chuu proposes.

“You're on.”

 

* * *

 

“Think Chuu would like this?” Yves holds up a music box, gently turning the knob so that it plays.

“You already bought her strawberries though,” Jinsoul replies, skimming through a book, “I think that's enough gifts for your precious little Chuubie.”

Uninterested in helping with shopping, Choerry was busy playing hopscotch with the local kids. She easily beats everyone every match, having played countless times with Gowon and Olivia back home. “...and I win again!” she yells, taking the final leap, throwing her hands in the air in triumph.

“No fair, you always win!” one of the younger kids cry.

“If you want to beat me, you need to practice more. 40 hours a day is sufficient.”

“But there's only 24 hou-”

“Choerry, we're leaving!” Jinsoul cries, her and Yves waiting for the younger girl.

“Coming! I'll see you guys next time!” Choerry skips on over, clinging onto Yves’ arm as the three began to walk home. “Ooh, strawberries!” she says, seeing the little basket swinging from Yves’ hand.

“No touchy, they're for Chuu.” the older girl warns.

“Come on, just only one! Chuu can't even eat them all of it!”

“No.”

“Just a bite? Pretty pretty, like Yves, please?”

“No.”

“I'll let you room with Chuu tonigh-”

“Deal.”

“Gowon, what are you doing here?” Jinsoul asks, seeing the blonde-haired girl slowly walking towards the three of them.

“I, uh, need to talk to you.” Gowon replies. “And please try to stay as calm as possible.”

“Stay...calm? Why would I not be calm?”

“Uh oh.” Choerry whispers under her breath, all while snatching a strawberry from distracted Yves.

 

* * *

 

“OLIVIA!”

A fuming Jinsoul storms into the room, where Olivia is busy changing the wet cloth on Heejin’s forehead.

“H...hi Jinsoul.” Olivia says timidly, knowing she was in deep trouble.

“This is her? The girl you brought in?” Jinsoul asks, to which Olivia nods. “Honestly, I'm really mad at you right now for disobeying my wishes, but I'm too tired to even bother scolding you. Just...just don't do it again, okay? I'm sure you brought her in, like you did with Yves, with good intentions. But I'm just afraid with increasing numbers, we can't feed and shelter everyone properly.”

“I promise I won't do it again. Ever.”

Yves walks in, “Have you guys seen Ch-”

Out of nowhere, Chuu comes flying towards Yves with open arms, hugging her like a koala and screaming excitedly, “STRAWBERRIES!”

“Ch-Chuu!” Yves squeals, feeling heat build up in her face.

“Something smells burnt.” Choerry says as she walks in, sniffing the air.

“MY FISHES!” Chuu screams, unlatching herself from Yves, who is red like the strawberries, and rushing out.

“Fish? Chuu better not have cooked Beta, or I'll kill her.” Jinsoul says.

“Guess tonight's dinner is going to be strawberries.” Choerry snickers. She spots Heejin, “Another pretty girl! I must say Olivia, you do have a knack for finding pretty girls.”

“Welcome back, Yves.” Olivia says, waving her hand awkwardly. But the other girl is lost in her own thoughts, so she does not react, the younger girl looking a little disappointed and hurt. She stands up, looking at Jinsoul, “I'm...going to help Chuu.”

Olivia leaves the room, Choerry looking back and forth between the disappearing back and Yves. “What a mess.” she mutters to herself.

In the kitchen, Gowon is busy trying to save what Chuu called dinner. Olivia stands next to her, watching silently.

“...was she mad?” Olivia asks.

“Terribly. She was ready to throw that girl out the moment she came back.”

“What did you say then? To make her change her mind?”

“I said if she did that, you would leave.”

“I never sai-”

“I know you didn't, but I had to come up with some excuse, right?” Gowon finishes removing the burnt parts off the fishes and begins to remove the bones. “The last thing she wants is to lose any one of us. She'd much rather have to care for another girl than to lose one.”

“Because we're family to her.”

“Yes, because we're family to her. She already lost her real family, she doesn't want to lose this one. Jinsoul sees herself as the responsible one, as if all of our lives are in her hands. She's scared of not being able to help us.”

Olivia just listens silently, letting Gowon’s words sink in. Of course, she knew Jinsoul cared about all of them. It just never occurred to her how stressed Jinsoul must be.

“You have a kind heart, Olivia. Even if you can barely help yourself, you're willing to help others. Sometimes, the rest of us wonder if you're actually an angel in disguise. Especially when you first brought in Yves, remember when you let her sleep on your mattress, gave her all your clothes and shoes? You literally gave her everything you owned.”

Olivia smiles, remembering back then. Yves tried to have the two share the mattress, but Olivia refused, sleeping on the ground until the others finally were able to get another one. The clothes and shoes, she had made sure Yves got the newer ones.

“I only gave her everything because, well, she's my everything.”


End file.
